Cancel allotted coal blocks: BJP

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Last Updated: Wed, Aug 29, 2012 18:16 hrs

India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government should immediately cancel all the allocated coal blocks for the sake of the country.

"Please cancel all the allocated coal blocks immediately. You do it for the sake of the country," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said while addressing a pess conference here on Wednesday.

"The UPA had the intentions of earning the ´mota maal´ (large cash). I congratulate media for bringing out the issue of coalgate," he said.

He urged the media to join the fight against coal scam.

"I congratulate the media for exposing the coal scam one after the other. I urge the media to join us. We can fight the matter together," Javadekar said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA government are facing continuous attacks from BJP over the coal block allocation issue.

The BJP is demanding the PM´s resignation over the issue and disrupted the Parliament for the past few days.

Amid uproar inside the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and their adjournments, Singh on Monday said the observations of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the coal allocations are disputable and they would be challenged in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The BJP criticized Singh over his coal statement in the Parliament and said he was taking refuge to mere words.

The coal report of the CAG has pointed finger at the loss-making coal block allocations when the portfolio was held by Singh.

The report by the CAG said 25 private companies received benefits of around Rs 1.86 lakh crore through of coalblock allocations in various states.